Jonathan Paton No More Earmarks

Jonathan Paton is committing to fight against the corrupt earmark process if elected to Congress. He will not request pork-barrel projects; and he won't vote for them. "Earmarks are not based on need or merit, they're awarded based on loyalty to Nancy Pelosi. That's an outrage," Paton said. "Earmarks are the gateway drug to spending addiction. We can't forget that one of the reasons voters ousted Republicans in 2006 was because they had strayed from their principles and lost sight of fiscal restraint.

Democrats have continued and accelerated that trend. Still, today 40 percent of earmarks are requested by Republicans. Both parties have been corrupted by the practice, with it even leading to prison time for some former politicians. We need to stand up to the Washington establishment and say 'no.'"

In the current fiscal year, Congress has awarded $16 billion in earmarks, according to a study by Taxpayers for Common Sense. That's 9,499 individual earmarks.

"Unrestrained spending is one of the top concerns of voters I'm talking to throughout Southern Arizona," Paton said. "It's time to say 'no' to this form of incumbent protection that is pushing us further into debt. I can guarantee that over the next several months leading up to Election Day, we will see more and more projects coming down the pipe and highlighted at press conferences by Gabrielle Giffords and company. While some of these projects may be nice, at what cost are we accepting them?"

Gabrielle Giffords has admitted the process is corrupt -- but she keeps requesting and voting for earmarks anyway, later touting the projects in her campaigns. In 2009, Giffords requested more than $100 million in earmarks. In fact, she originally had to be shamed into releasing her earmark requests by the editorial page of the Arizona Daily Star, choosing first to keep her requests secret from the public.

TEXT CREDIT: Jonathan Paton for Congress

IMAGE CREDIT: Time1948